RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesPresident Donald Trump doesn’t want the Senate to leave town with his flagship election security measure still on the line.
It’s less than two weeks until the upper chamber makes a jailbreak from Washington, D.C., and the schedule is already jam-packed with key items, from blockbuster confirmations to a long-awaited sanctions package targeting Russia.
But only one legislative priority matters to Trump: the SAVE America Act. And despite the political reality in the Senate, the president wants the bill passed by any means necessary.
TRUMP'S SAVE AMERICA ACT STALLS AS MCCONNELL'S ABSENCE COMPLICATES SENATE PATH
"John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of, including a full and deep-throated SAVE AMERICA ACT, the Budget, and the ever looming Debt Ceiling disaster, 1929," Trump declared on Truth Social.
"The Dumocrats will do it on day one and can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership," he continued. "Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!"
GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP'S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN
While Congress’ annual break during August is often viewed outside the Beltway as vacation time for lawmakers, during a midterm election year, it allows for crucial hours on the road for incumbents to have face time with voters and make their pitch to keep their seat.
Republicans are hungry to campaign and sell their agenda, particularly last year’s tax cut package, Trump’s "one big, beautiful bill," but are facing headwinds from the war in Iran and affordability issues.
And there are three races on the 2026 map that are troubling for the Senate GOP in its quest to maintain its majority: Maine, Alaska and Ohio.
Still, Trump has warned that unless the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, they will suffer the consequences at the ballot box, and he has routinely called for the elimination of the filibuster for many of his priorities, but neither has the votes to happen in the upper chamber.
TRUMP'S PATIENCE 'RUNNING OUT' AS THUNE FIRES BACK OVER STALLED ELECTION SECURITY BILL
It comes as tensions between the White House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are on the rise.
Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that Trump’s patience was "running out" with Thune over the legislation, which prompted the top Senate Republican to fire back that the White House should focus its energy on Democrats blocking the SAVE America Act and work the phones to get Republicans to a "yes" vote.
Trump is also not alone in his push for Thune to cancel the upcoming break.
Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Ashley Moody, R-Fla., have all announced their intent online to object to Thune calling for recess toward the end of this work period.
"I hereby object to any effort to put the Senate into recess in August — at least until such time as the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act — and hereby request a roll call vote," Lee said on X.
"Do not assume you have my consent," he continued. "You do not."
Typically, recess or state work periods are a consent exercise in the Senate, meaning that all lawmakers agree to skip town and head back to their states to do work on the ground. But a single senator can object on the Senate floor and force a vote to decide whether the upper chamber stays or goes.
Trump and the GOP trio’s demands come at an inflection point in the Senate.
Thune has prioritized averting a government shutdown and is encouraging ongoing negotiations between Republicans and Democrats to hammer out a deal before the break begins. He’s threatened to hold the House-passed budget resolution that would, among other things, set up a rough framework to pass the SAVE America Act through budget reconciliation.
All that comes after he and other Republicans have made clear the political reality that the SAVE America Act, as written, does not have the votes to pass in the upper chamber, neither from Democrats nor the GOP.
And whether the legislation, or a version of it, can survive the reconciliation process remains to be seen, given that, as written, the SAVE America Act is primarily policy and doesn’t have a budgetary impact — a key requirement of the party line process.
"It's still likely to be a 60-vote exercise, even if it's done with a budget resolution," Thune told Fox News Digital. "Unless it's done with, you know, structured to allow grants to states that’s incentive-based, and principally budgetary, not policy."
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